Communism Part 2 of 3: Economic Development in Vietnam

Capitalistic beliefs and imperialism had proven superior to the ideals of communism, and its practices would not be tolerated in the future. Although military and social conditions were prominent, one of the most evident reasons for the fall of the Soviet Union was its inability to stand up to outside competition, thus rendering its economy unproductive in terms of being a major player in the global market. Additionally, after a state once thought to be undefeatable did succumb to the competition, more weaknesses of communism as a political theory came to the forefront.

For example, the over reliance on the state sector proved to be harmful to internal production, as well as vulnerable to corruption when the system is totalitarian. More importantly, it was found that when a communist country alienated itself from the West, technological improvements and innovations decreased. In other words, international interaction is a necessity to improving productivity and economic expansion. However, the Soviet Union refused Western alliances and opportunities, and in the end suffered the consequences.

Even before the actual fall of the Soviet Union, countries around the world began testing the waters of capitalism and open markets, apparently aware of the possible backlashes to communism. In particular, in 1978 China enacted a “four modernizations” model, which even though China still has not fully escaped from communism, it was at least a crucial step in the right direction. Additionally, Egypt sought to reform their version of socialism earlier in the 1970’s. Most important in the statement of capitalism over communism was the success of Asian countries like Seoul, Taipei, and Singapore who transformed their economies successfully. Capitalism was winning the battle of ideologies around the world, and thus communism was falling out of style, although not entirely in Asia. By the end of 1994, the number of communist citizens in the world had dropped from 1.7 billion, as mentioned earlier, to 1.3 billion, with the majority living in China, North Korea, and Vietnam.

With the demise of the Soviet Union came a fall in the lone global challenger to the Western style of governing. For years communism had battled against capitalism, dedicated to a different way. However, as countries collapsed and struggled to rebuild their economies, it was the ones clinging to communism that found themselves the furthest from prosperity. In particular, Vietnam struggled excessively in their terms of trade and investment from abroad, as well in their military. For

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